First-round order, top prospects for 2024 NHL draft
The Stanley Cup Final ended with a Florida Panthers championship and with that, the final two slots for Friday's first round of the NHL draft were filled.
But the San Jose Sharks shook up the order a little on Thursday by moving up in the first round in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres. San Jose, which also holds the top pick, moved up to 11th place. The Sabres will move down to 14th and also get the 42nd overall pick.
The champion Panthers got the 32nd pick and the runner-up Edmonton Oilers pick No. 31. But they already traded those picks, so the Philadelphia Flyers (32) and Anaheim Ducks (31) will choose instead.
The first 16 slots were set after the draft lottery, with the Sharks winning and retaining the top pick. None of the non-playoff teams moved up or down. The next 12 picks went to the teams eliminated in the first two rounds. Picks Nos. 29 and 30 went to the conference final losers.
Monday's trade of Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Senators gave Ottawa's No. 1 pick (originally Boston's) to the Bruins.
A look at the 2024 NHL draft:
MOCK DRAFT: Who will follow Macklin Celebrini?
What is the first round order for the 2024 NHL draft?
San Jose Sharks
Chicago Blackhawks
Anaheim Ducks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Seattle Kraken
Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils
San Jose Sharks (from Buffalo Sabres in swap of picks)
Philadelphia Flyers
Minnesota Wild
Buffalo Sabres (from Pittsburgh Penguins in the Erik Karlsson deal, Sharks traded the pick to the Sabres on Thursday)
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Washington Capitals
Chicago Blackhawks (from New York Islanders in a swap of picks in May. Chicago gave up the 20th pick and two second-rounders for the 18th pick and a second-rounder)
Vegas Golden Knights
New York Islanders (from Tampa Bay Lightning via Chicago Blackhawks in the 2022 Brandon Hagel deal)
Los Angeles Kings
Nashville Predators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Colorado Avalanche
Boston Bruins (from Bruins via Detroit Red Wings via Ottawa Senators. The Red Wings got the Bruins' first-rounder in 2023's Tyler Bertuzzi deal. Detroit traded it to Ottawa in the Alex DeBrincat deal and the Senators traded it to Boston in this month's Linus Ullmark deal)
Montreal Canadiens (from Winnipeg Jets in the Sean Monahan deal)
Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames (from Vancouver Canucks in the Elias Lindholm deal)
Dallas Stars
New York Rangers
Anaheim Ducks (from the Oilers in the Adam Henrique trade)
Philadelphia Flyers (from the Panthers in the 2022 Claude Giroux trade)
When and where is the 2024 NHL draft?
The 2024 NHL draft will be held Friday and Saturday at Sphere in Las Vegas. The first round will start Friday at 7 p.m. ET and the second through seventh rounds will start Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET.
How to watch, live stream the NHL draft
The first round will shown Friday on ESPN and Saturday's rounds will be shown on NHL Network. Both days can be streamed on ESPN+.
Who will be taken No. 1 overall in the 2024 NHL draft?
The consensus top pick is Macklin Celebrini, 18, a 6-foot, 190-pound freshman center at Boston University. He had 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games to lead the Terriers to the Frozen Four, where they lost to eventual champion Denver in the semifinals. He won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey's top men's player, plus was voted Hockey East's top player and rookie.
Who are the top NHL draft prospects?
Celebrini is the consensus No. 1 pick in mock drafts and has been all season.
“He possesses that rare, elite ability to thrive with his skills and smarts while competing with a consistent passion to face every challenge head-on and generate results, all the while making himself a better player,” said Dan Marr, vice president of NHL Central Scouting.
There is no consensus No. 2 pick. The draft is deep in defensemen.
Here is how NHL Central Scouting ranks the top 10 North American prospects and top five international prospects.
North American prospects: Celebrini, Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov, Medicine Hat center Cayden Lindstrom, Denver defenseman Zeev Buium, Saginaw defenseman Zayne Parekh, Tri-City winger Trevor Connelly, London defenseman Sam Dickinson, Spokane center Berkly Catton, Kelowna center Tij Iginla (son of Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla) and Chicago center Michael Hage.
International prospects: Russian 6-7 defenseman Anton Silayev, Russian winger Ivan Demidov, Finnish center Konsta Helenius, Czech defenseman Adam Jiricek and Swedish winger Michael Brandsegg-Nygard.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL draft: First-round order, top prospects